17-year-old Kristi Bartz has been identified as the girl who tragically lost her life after she was hit by a train in Snohomish County on Saturday.
Kristi and another friend were at a popular spot for teenagers in the spring and summer, q13fox reports. The girls are said to have gone up to the trestle above the Stillaguamish River when she was somehow hit by a freight train.
Kristi is survived by her parents: Manfred, –who works for Hewlett-Packard –and Karen Bartz,
and two older sisters: 23-year-old Stefani and 20-year-old Michaela Bartz.
Her family described her as a top student and athlete, who was planning to attend the University of British Columbia in the fall.
Kristi was a senior at Archbishop Murphy High School, a private Catholic prep school; where she excelled in math and was a co-captain of her soccer team and broke numerous school records in track and field.
She was quite popular and among her friends.
According to Seattle News, Kristi and her friend were on a trestle about 20 feet above a slough around 3:10 p.m. when a BNSF Railway train approached. The train crew sounded the whistle and applied the emergency brake. Her friend was able to get out from the way but Kristi was struck.
Her father said about her “She really believed in God,” adding his daughter had a good head about her, got straight A’s and was the person her friends’ parents called to find out where their kids were.
We send our condolences to the family.
